Eight companies and alliances presented their bids for the Minister of Electricity's tender for the operation and maintenance of the new Siemens power plants in Beni Suef, the New Administrative Capital and Brulus, out of 11 alliances that bought the tender conditions booklet. Sources at the ministry said that the eight companies include Siemens, Steiaj-PGESCO, Orascom-ADERA Energy, Elsewedy-EDF, Triangle-GD France, Korea's Doosan, and Japan's Mitsubishi. The ministry is expected to complete studying the bids within 40 days from the date of receiving the bids. Then, the ministry will start studying the financial offers of the companies. The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) invited four companies to present their technical and financial offers for the operation and maintenance of the new Siemens power plants. The EEHC has determined the technical specifications and costs of the projects based on an intensive study conducted by the company. The sources pointed out that some of the EEHC's officials object to contracting with a private company for the operation and maintenance of the new power plants due to the high costs required by such companies. They argued that the EEHC has enough qualified technicians and capabilities to carry out these tasks itself. Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker rejected the suggestion to form a committee from the EEHC to operate the Siemens plants, stressing the need to contract with a private company or a global alliance to carry out the job. The ministry signed a contract with the German company Siemens to add 14,400 MW to the national electricity grid by May 2018, through establishing three power plants in Beni Suef, the New Administrative Capital and Brulus under the EBC + Finance system. Three German banks, KfW Development Bank, HSBC, and Deutsche Bank, secured funding for Siemens' projects in Egypt, amounting to €4.1bn of a total contract value of €6bn. Arab banks secured the remaining funding in Egyptian pounds to pay the Egyptian companies participating in construction, including Elsewedy Electric and Orascom. Siemens will be responsible for the design, construction and financing of the new plants, while the ministry will begin to repay its dues after commercial operation begins in May.
